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What Should You Do When You Have a Dental Emergency While Traveling?

One of the most inconvenient things that could possibly happen while traveling is a dental emergency. Unfortunately, dental emergencies are often unpredictable, so it’s important to know what steps to take if you’re traveling far away from home when you suddenly end up with a serious and painful dental problem. It’s not a good idea to try ignoring the pain and just dealing with it until you get home. You’ll need to make sure you’re taking the right steps to improve the situation as quickly as you can.

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Take Pain Relieving Medication

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If you’re dealing with a lot of pain because of a tooth, the first thing you should do is take pain-relieving medication, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Continuing to deal with the pain without taking any medication will only make the situation worse for you. Even if you didn’t bring medication with you on your travels, it shouldn’t be too hard for you to find ibuprofen or acetaminophen at a store in the area you're visiting.

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Rinse Your Mouth With Saltwater

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Grab a cup, fill it with warm water, add a pinch of salt, and then rinse your mouth for 30-60 seconds with the water. Make sure you’re swishing the water back and forth in your mouth. The water and salt combination may help to soothe some of the pain while promoting healing for the time being until you can get to a dental office for treatment.

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Look For an Emergency Dentist in the Area

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Use your phone to search for an emergency dentist in the area. There may be a few dentists operating on a 24-hour basis. These dentists may provide emergency services to relieve patients of their pain and discomfort while treating the tooth that is causing the problem in the first place. If you're traveling in Jacksonville, you can visit Farnham Dentistry Practice.  However, it all depends on where you’ve traveled to. 

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Not all places have emergency dentists. If you can’t find a dentist who would be willing to see you despite not being from the area, you’ll need to go to an urgent care facility.

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Visit an Urgent Care Center

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Head over to an urgent care center for treatment. Most urgent care centers have staff members who could at least examine your mouth, find out what is causing your pain, and possibly prescribe something to help until you can get back home and see your primary dentist. For example, they may prescribe an antibiotic for you to take to prevent any infections from taking place. Make sure you’re paying attention to any instructions that are given to you by the staff members at the urgent care center.

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When you’re traveling far away from home, the last thing you want to experience is tooth pain and discomfort. If you’re dealing with an unexpected dental emergency and don’t know what to do, take pain-relieving medication, rinse your mouth with some warm salt water, and then look for an emergency dentist or an urgent care center you can visit for the time being to get relief from your pain and receive treatment.

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